Bottled Water--Not so Pure
Perhaps you are one of the many, many Americans who have turned from drinking tap water in recent years. After all, who knows whats in it? In many cities it tastes, smells, or even looks odd.
The obvious alternative is bottled water, which over the past 15 years has become increasingly popular. Plenty of us are solving the problem this way. But this alternative has some serious drawbacks, and it turns out that many sellers are selling just filtered tap water anyway. Since the FDA (which regulates bottled water) has lower testing standards than the EPA (which regulates tap water), the bottled water may have more microbes in it, according to tests.
More drawbacks concern the plastic bottles used to hold the water. Sixty million water bottles PER DAY are used in America, and many of them end up in landfills. Actually, this huge number shouldn't really surprise us. Each of us should drink gallons of water per day, right? Drinking it from plastic bottles will quickly mean a lot of discarded bottles.
The public is gradually becoming aware that drinking from plastic bottles poses a health threat. There is a chemical, BPA, used to make the clear plastic (recycling number 1) bottles used for this purpose. Traces of the BPA end up in the water stored in the container. (Plastics with recycling numbers of 3 and 7 contain BPA as well.)
Catherine Zandonella, M.P.H., wrote an article about BPA in the online magazine The Green Guide. She says that a growing number of scientists conclude from animal tests that BPA exposure in the womb raises risk of cancers, hampers fertility, and contributes to childhood hyperactivity. Other studies point to a link with diabetes and a host of other ills, for a total of 104 independent studies identifying harmful effects. Meanwhile, 11 studies funded by the industry claim no harmful effects. The FDA has chosen to go with these results, which critics call flawed.
BPA isnt just in the clear plastic bottles. Its also in canned food containers, baby bottles and toys, and vats used for processing wine. In fact, 95 percent of Americans tested in 2004 had some level of BPA in their urine, according to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as quoted by Zandonella.
It seems clear we should avoid contaminants if possible. In fact, avoiding contaminants is the whole reason we were buying bottled water, isnt it? Lets drink water out of glass, stainless steel, or BPA-free plastic (with a recycling number 2, 4, or 5 on the bottom).
Heres how to drink pure water and also control what container I am using: I can get a home water filter , one that triple-filters the water coming out of my kitchen tap or icemaker. I can bottle this water myself using glass or stainless steel containers, -- or BPA-free plastic bottles with recycling symbol #2, 4, or 5. And here's the best part: it costs a lot less! I purify my own water for about eight cents per gallon. - 17274
The obvious alternative is bottled water, which over the past 15 years has become increasingly popular. Plenty of us are solving the problem this way. But this alternative has some serious drawbacks, and it turns out that many sellers are selling just filtered tap water anyway. Since the FDA (which regulates bottled water) has lower testing standards than the EPA (which regulates tap water), the bottled water may have more microbes in it, according to tests.
More drawbacks concern the plastic bottles used to hold the water. Sixty million water bottles PER DAY are used in America, and many of them end up in landfills. Actually, this huge number shouldn't really surprise us. Each of us should drink gallons of water per day, right? Drinking it from plastic bottles will quickly mean a lot of discarded bottles.
The public is gradually becoming aware that drinking from plastic bottles poses a health threat. There is a chemical, BPA, used to make the clear plastic (recycling number 1) bottles used for this purpose. Traces of the BPA end up in the water stored in the container. (Plastics with recycling numbers of 3 and 7 contain BPA as well.)
Catherine Zandonella, M.P.H., wrote an article about BPA in the online magazine The Green Guide. She says that a growing number of scientists conclude from animal tests that BPA exposure in the womb raises risk of cancers, hampers fertility, and contributes to childhood hyperactivity. Other studies point to a link with diabetes and a host of other ills, for a total of 104 independent studies identifying harmful effects. Meanwhile, 11 studies funded by the industry claim no harmful effects. The FDA has chosen to go with these results, which critics call flawed.
BPA isnt just in the clear plastic bottles. Its also in canned food containers, baby bottles and toys, and vats used for processing wine. In fact, 95 percent of Americans tested in 2004 had some level of BPA in their urine, according to a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as quoted by Zandonella.
It seems clear we should avoid contaminants if possible. In fact, avoiding contaminants is the whole reason we were buying bottled water, isnt it? Lets drink water out of glass, stainless steel, or BPA-free plastic (with a recycling number 2, 4, or 5 on the bottom).
Heres how to drink pure water and also control what container I am using: I can get a home water filter , one that triple-filters the water coming out of my kitchen tap or icemaker. I can bottle this water myself using glass or stainless steel containers, -- or BPA-free plastic bottles with recycling symbol #2, 4, or 5. And here's the best part: it costs a lot less! I purify my own water for about eight cents per gallon. - 17274
About the Author:
A home water filter can provide you with exactly the abundant, pure water you need, in safe containers of your own choice. Save money too! pure, pure water from your home water filter costs exactly 8 cents per gallon. Find out about filter options, including filters attached to the shower head, at http://www.home-water-filter.info .
posted by X - Men at
12:35 AM
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